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the quality or state of being .
an act, thing, or circ-mstance.
contemporary examples

whether we like it or not, these atrocities are here to stay.
summer’s ugliest trend? sneaker wedges should be banned! isabel wilkinson may 29, 2012

he shot himself at his desk on the fifth floor of the corner house, leaving a note warning others of the atrocities to come.
secret kgb torture house opens its doors in riga brandon presser june 3, 2014

he witnessed first-hand the atrocities of war as a naval officer and became a vocal proponent for ending the vietnam war.
john kerry’s doomed quest for redemption maysoon zayid july 21, 2013

alternatively, there is an informal proposal to set up a special inquiry into atrocities in syria.
u.s.: -ssad’s ‘machinery of death’ worst since the n-z-s josh rogin july 6, 2014

“we are haunted by the atrocities that we did not stop and the lives we did not save,” obama said.
obama announces board aimed at preventing next genocide sarah wildman april 23, 2012

historical examples

the atrocities of which they are guilty are a hundred times worse than i could have believed.
in the mahdi’s grasp george manville fenn

the english nation have never forgiven mary for these atrocities.
queen elizabeth jacob abbott

meanwhile the christian powers had been greatly alarmed by the loss of cyprus and the atrocities above described.
the turkish empire, its growth and decay lord eversley

what a manly bold letter that was of his about the negro atrocities.
charles lever, his life in his letters, vol. ii (of ii) edmund downey

the atrocities that these civilians have been and are guilty of are avenged in a savage manner.
german atrocities from german evidence joseph bdier

noun (pl) -ties
behaviour or an action that is wicked or ruthless
the fact or quality of being atrocious
(usually pl) acts of extreme cruelty, esp against prisoners or civilians in wartime
n.

1530s, from middle french atrocité or directly from latin atrocitatem (nominative atrocitas) “cruelty, fierceness, harshness,” noun of quality from atrox “fierce, cruel, frightful,” from pie -atro-ek-, from root -ater- “fire” (see atrium) + -okw- “see” (see eye (n.)); thus “of fiery or threatening appearance.” the meaning “an atrocious deed” is from 1793.